PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ Federal fishing regulators say they are allowing commercial fishermen to harvest the same amount of a marketable species of ocean crab this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says fishermen will be allowed to bring 3.9 million pounds of deep-sea red crabs to land this year. That is the same quota that has been in effect since 2011.

The crabs are fished for use as food. They have been brought to shore from Maine to Virginia over the years. The biggest producer in recent years has been Massachusetts.

NOAA says there were no overages in the fishery in 2017.